PHOENIX, Arizona, May 6. NATHAN Adrian participated in his first Masters meet last week, swimming at the U.S. Masters Swimming short course nationals in Santa Clara, California. As expected, the Olympic champion was the class of the field in the 25-29 age group.

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While Adrian’s 18.78 in the 50 free on Friday was a bit of a surprise, it didn’t compare to what came on Saturday in the 100 free. Swimming in the 61st of 65 heats, Adrian had a bit of competition with Darian Townsend right on his hip. After leading by about a body length at the 50-yard mark, Adrian turned on his powerful windmill stroke with 10 yards to go and touched the wall in what was then believed to be a 41.08. That would have tied his own American record from 2009.

But the following day, the officials at USMS determined that Adrian’s official time was 41.13, claiming that during the race, the automatic timing system went into backup mode. But the timing system did officially register Adrian’s touch at the finish with a 41.13, which trumped the 41.08 clocked by the pushing of the plungers by the timers. Yes, it’s a little bit confusing, but what’s not confusing is Nathan’s speed at this time of year. Obviously, Masters nationals is not Nathan Adrian’s big goal of the year, but to chase his American record in the 100 free — one that was set during the rubber suit era of 2009 — signals some good things to come this summer.

Author: Jeff Commings

Jeff Commings is the host of several shows on SwimmingWorld.TV, including "The Morning Swim Show," which features interviews with people making headlines in aquatic sports. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism and was a nine-time NCAA All-American.